Congrats on 40 years. That's definitely a rare milestone.
I've been one of the "haters" for a long time and it definitely has never been because I had any trouble passing the exams. I passed easily on my first attempt shortly after finishing paramedic school, in a state in which it wasn't required. I was gung-ho about my new career and wanted to collect as many feathers in my cap as possible. I also easily passed again when I had let it lapse for several years but needed it for certification in a new state that my service covered. It was also never about being too "lazy" to get the con-ed that I needed to recert or about wanting to just do the minimum; the education that I did to obtain and maintain my other credentials (state, CCEMTP, FP-C, CCRN, CFRN, etc) more than covered what I needed for NR recert. I think that's probably the case for most paramedics - you are doing con-ed of some sort anyway because its required by your service or your county or your state, so keeping NR doesn't require extra education, it's just the hassle of submitting everything and spending the time and money on a redundant credential.
Thank you!
As I said, I realize not all were due to failing, but in the 80's and 90's, in MY experience, the vast majority were due to failing
I am from PA, which was NOT a state that required NREMT in 1984, in fact PA had 2 levels of Paramedic then, Paramedic-I and Paramedic-II
Paramedic-I's did not meet criteria to sit for the NREMT-P exam, which created much resentment from many PA P-I's (Paramedic-I's)
Many PA systems back then ran Medics that were only P-I's
I also maintain my FP-C, CCP-C, and CCEMT-P, along with my NRP, never really found any of them difficult to maintain
When I worked in NJ, it was interesting to watch, as to those that maintained NREMT-P vs. those that didn't.
They (in the NJ service I worked for) held weekend programs for recert, Sat only for NJ MIC-P and both days for NREMT-P, I fail to understand how 1 extra day every 2 years is that big a deal, but apparently it is
Just to make you aware, NJ MIC-P is a 2-year recert
To be clear, I get it, if you're a volunteer or Part-timer (in other words, you don't pay your bills from your EMS job), why you wouldn't have or maintain NREMT
BUT, I do fail to understand why someone who is Career EMS, is unwilling to maintain NREMT certification
Again, just my opinion, and you are certainly intitled to yours